The wife of deputy Victorian Liberal leader Sam Groth has released a scathing statement after newspaper reports speculated over the timeline of their relationship.
Brittany Groth today called a report by the Herald Sun “a disgraceful smear campaign” after it questioned whether she was underage when she commenced a relationship with Mr Groth in 2011.
“The Herald Sun‘s decision to speculate salaciously about my personal life from 14 years ago, when I was a teenager, is not journalism,” she said.
“It is a disgraceful smear campaign, devoid of fact, public interest or even basic decency.”
Mrs Groth labelled claims their relationship began when she was underage and Mr Groth was her tennis coach as “baseless and false”.
She claims the Herald Sun “never once tried to contact” her regarding the story.
“Their conduct has amounted to pressure on me to disclose intimate details of my personal and private life, including when I first had sex with my husband, to defend myself against fiction,” Mrs Groth said.
Blasting the reporting, which included two articles and social media posts, Mrs Groth said the stories set “a dangerous precedent”.
“No woman should live in fear that her private history will be picked apart and rewritten by strangers, let alone weaponised by media outlets desperate for clicks,” she said.
“To the Herald Sun, your conduct is shameful.
“This was never about the truth. It was about manufacturing a scandal, and you did it at the expense of a young woman, a marriage and two innocent children.”
It comes as news emerged that the professional tennis player turned politician has threatened legal action against Labor MP Mary-Anne Thomas following her commentary on the matter.
Earlier this week, Thomas responded to media questions about the purported scandal.
“If you can’t govern yourselves, you can’t govern the state,” Thomas said.
“But if you’re asking me if it’s appropriate for a person in a position of influence or authority … like a teacher or a coach to be dating a teenager, the answer is no.
“And I think most parents would stand with me.”
Opposition Leader Brad Battin declined to comment on the matter.
“Any matters now for Sam Groth are a private matter. I just won’t be commenting further,” he said.
Premier Jacinta Allan said families should be “very much off limits” in the public sphere.
The Herald Sun has been contacted for comment.
